PREVIEW | Sqaud depth is keeping everyone focused

The strength in depth in the Southend United squad is such that everyone is constantly kept on their toes, according to Michael Timlin.

Timlin spent a substantial period on the side-line at the start of the season, and had a hard task getting into the midfield.

A strong performance at Bury was followed by a place on the bench against Bradford. His return the starting XI then came at left back to deputise for the injured Ben Coker.

Timlin said he was happy to fill the gap until Coker was fit, and that the competition for places is as high as ever.

“When I had to come on at left back I was delighted to come on because obviously I was disappointed not to be starting in midfield after the Bury game,” he said.

“But that just shows the competition for places we’ve got in this team.

“If this Club is going to move forward, we have to keep the competition high and everyone fighting for their place because as soon as someone rests on their laurels you’re not going to be pushing each other.

“The gaffer knew I was just happy to do as best I could at left back until Ben Coker was back and as soon as he was back I wanted to be back in midfield.

“In our situation we all have to be pushing each other, whether you’re playing or not.

“If you’re coming off the bench you have to make sure you’re affecting the game in a good way and that’s what it has to be until the end of the season.”

The midfielder, who plays his local side Millwall this weekend, also feels Blues are well placed for a top six place.

“We’ve come through the period that everyone was going to question us on.

“If we didn’t come through it [as well as we have] then we wouldn’t be there or there abouts.

“We’ve still got a lot to do, a lot to work hard on but we feel as though we’re going in the right direction.

“Let’s not take anything away from the teams that are in this league.

“If you don’t turn up then you can always get beat.

“We always remind ourselves, no matter how far this run goes, if we do have a bad blip we have to make sure we recover which we did show after the Sheffield Unite game.”